I've been playing Skyrim now for ages and really enjoying it and dont have much to complain about the game, but seems like alot of you guys play with mods and was wondering what the big deal is, does it improve the game alot and in what way?

Well, mods can change the game mechanics, add content and quests, fix bugs, improve graphics and pretty much alter the core game in any way you desire. Even if you are completely happy with the base game, you'll run out of content sooner or later and there are mods out there that add completely new worldspaces and dozens of hours of gameplay. Just be picky, there are tons of bad mods as well, and they might break your save.

Thanks for the info, yeah thats one of the reasons why i've never decided to give it a go, the amount of messages on here about games crashes, quest glitches, saved games not working anymore because of mods etc. I've only played the base game (not even tried dragonborn or dawnguard yet) and only had a few minor bugs here and there, don't want to completely ♥♥♥♥ up my saved games if i step into modding.

if you do it right you have nothing to fear.....use Nexus Mod Manager as a first protection from starup crashes as well as an easy install tool. If you can read, than you can read a mods requirements and dependencies. Quest glitches and corrupted saves can appear in an unmodded game as well, so this is of lower importance... some mods, will fix quest/npc/weapon/etc glitches...

I would not play my Skyrim without mods.It does gives many improvements in terms of graphics, gameplay, immersion etc. Without them, Skyrim to me is just a hack-and-slash action game without any RPG elements at all...

I have 80+ mods installed and no bugs or glitch ever encountered in my gameplay... as long you know what you are doing. Only install high rated mods, there's a list of recommended mods that you should check out, with good support and documentation. Google Skyrim STEP Project.

Most of my mods are graphical based with an ENB for super-prettiness. I don't get as much FPS as I would with the vanilla game (avg ~25) but I can't even look at the vanilla game anymore. Just looks so bland without all the wonderful textures and post-processing I can play around with. As long as I can still fight in 3rd person and catch butterflies any framerate loss is acceptable. When I can't catch butterflies anymore, I will know it's time to cut back! :)

Thanks for the info, yeah thats one of the reasons why i've never decided to give it a go, the amount of messages on here about games crashes, quest glitches, saved games not working anymore because of mods etc. I've only played the base game (not even tried dragonborn or dawnguard yet) and only had a few minor bugs here and there, don't want to completely ♥♥♥♥ up my saved games if i step into modding.

Just start slow and only use mods from experienced and well known mod creators [best bet would be to start with Skyrim Nexus; as you can easily guage the worthiness of the mod by the number of "Endorsements" it has]. Also, stay away from larger mods, SKSE, SkyUI, MCM, ENB mods until you have a good grasp of Skyrim modding

Unfortunately, the problem most people have [or the threads you see on here with ppl complaining] is that "some people" are under the impression that mods can do no harm, and it is just fine-and-dandy to add hundreds upon hundreds of mods without doing any testing; you just cannot do this.To compound the issue, many people who do this have no idea or very little understanding of the modding process for Skyrim. For example, if you use a mod that contains "scripts", you CANNOT remove/uninstall it; as the scripts will become part of your save-file and can cause serious issues if the mod is removed.

Anytime you "MODIFY" a game, there is a chance the creator of that mod may have "goofed" and edited something wrong. This is why it is best to use established and well known mods; and to start off your modding experience in a slow and steady manner.

In addition to the stickies in the main forum page;here is the list of "Top Mods of All Time" on the SKyrim Nexus.http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/topalltime/?adult=2[the "adult=2" in the above link just means I excluded any "adult mods" from the list; the above link only includes "PG-13-rated" mods]

Hell yes, it improves it! Graphics wise, and gameplay wise. Mods aren't JUST used for overpowering crap that makes the game have no challenge, they can be used to make the game more immersive and amazing, for example, i cannot DREAM of playing the game anyore without Frostfall.

Mods can add many wonders and a lot of fun, but those saying to only get mods from well-rated sources and watch the installation notes are very right.

There are mods for any disposition and level of seriousness, from being able to wipe out the Thieves' guild just like the DB and lore-friendly quests to other parts of Tamriel, to giant chickens and cartoon hammers. There are also some that fix official glitches.

Many mods just add niceties, though, such as smelters in every city, player homes of varying fanciness, fan-made armors/weapons, more marriage choices, clothes crafting, and being able to hug/give clothing/armor as gifts to your spouse so they can dress nicely and be protected if attacked. All those I've mentioned are here on Steam workshop, BTW.

I have to agree. I couldn't play Skyrim without mods. I have added tons which should have been in game from the get go. Go to Nexus and use that set up as Steam is limited and crap in my opinion. I'll give you an idea as to what i use. I like Immersive Armour and Weapon Mod. Frostfall. Moonlight Tales. Climates of Tamriel. Better Vampires. Cloaks of Skyrim. Winter is Coming and many many more. Bethesda did a good job by giving us a 50% of a game. The modding community have given us the finished article for sure.:)

I thought the same OP at first but once you start checking out mods you find you can really improve things like the graphics, colors and customize the look of your character and followers for just about any taste. There are alot of really useful mods that make the game much more enjoyable and less tedious.

There are mods for any disposition and level of seriousness, from being able to wipe out the Thieves' guild just like the DB

I am so installing that, Riften needs cleaning up. If I can take down the revolting Blackbriar clan too so much the better, and I'lll do it with or without Mjoll's help, I've taken too many insults from Maven, b!tch is going down, hard! Hell if thats not possible I'm going to console her to non-essential NPC and take her out anyway, maybe after all the quests are finished so as not to break the game. If the DB can assasinate the emperor I'm sure I can take out a mere Jarl!

I only use a small mod for some better textures without real performance loss and aside from that i only have kind of content mods like Falkaar etc. and a mod that adds like 200 more ambient sounds etc. to the game.. to make it. you know... a bit more emersive with alot of nice birds whistling, wolfs howling etc. :D

I've been playing Skyrim now for ages and really enjoying it and dont have much to complain about the game, but seems like alot of you guys play with mods and was wondering what the big deal is, does it improve the game alot and in what way?

Hi there, i think the best way to check out what mods can offer is to check out these YouTube channels.

Gopher, he makes exelent beginner guides and mod reviews that go very much into detail.